TEENAGERS EXPERIENCING MORE ANXIETY & DEPRESSION

13/07/2014

Anxiety and depression in teens on the increase?

According to an article by Amy Corderoy, in The Age newspaper Saturday July 12, 201, a review of 19 studies in 12 countries has found that more teenagers are getting anxiety and depression than they did approximately ten years ago.

A child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr Bor, who is based at the University of Queensland, and Mater Research at Mater Hospital, says that more girls are experiencing depression and anxiety than boys, but there has been a increase in the incidence of depression and anxiety for both sexes.

The studies found that 30-50% of teenage girls were experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Dr Bor attributes the decline in teenagers mental health in the last decade or so to increasing stress at school, changes in people’s value systems, young people becoming more narcissistic, and more time being spent on the internet or other screens.

Acting Beyond Blue chief executive Dr. Brian Graetz is reported to have said that parents should endeavour to impart stress management skills to their children from an early age.

I agree with this suggestion. Parents need to model regular exercise to their children. 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week. They are also advised to guide their children to avoid caffeinated drinks, illicit drugs and excessive alcohol consumption. As always parents need to give their children a very clear message of unconditional love. Many teenagers have high expectations of themselves re school and university and they don’t need added parental pressure to perform.

Parents need to know that they can access Medicare rebates for psychological treatment for their children and teenagers if they get a mental health care plan from their GP. This will entitle their child or adolescent to a medicare rebate for 10 psychology sessions per year.

4 Comments

Well, I may not be 17 anymore, but I do know what it’s like to have sestrs, depression and anxiety hit you all at once, and I do know how hard it can be. I also do not want any medication.All these things run in my family and sadly enough, most of them have become dependent on the medication. I have promised myself that I would never let that happen to me.Sometimes I break out into these horrible moods one minute, the next I’m crying my eyes out, and the next I just want to be left alone. That is no way for any person to live. You need support from loved ones to help out a little. We all need some help sometimes and the first step at helping depression in wanting to get better. I have chosen away to help myself, but I also ask others around me to be patient with me, it is a long process. I have been dealing with this in my life for years now, but slowly it is getting better.I realize this is a long answer, but I know a lot about this topic, and it saddens me to know that too many people suffer from this illness. In some cases, people need medication due to the chemical imbalance. Some just need learn that they have the power to overcome this. That is what I’m choosing to do, and so far I’m getting there.You are 17 years old and life can get better or much much worse. Always think to yourself, you are much greater then the sestrs, the pain, and the worries that you deal with everyday. School can be tough on people, but always know you can only do so much to please people. Try pleasing yourself, worry about yourself.Take one day at a time and just know that the horrible day will not last forever, and try not to bring your worries to the next days, that is the past and there is nothing you can do to change that.

What a great article. This is very true having a regular interaction with your teen will help a lot on developmental growth. Doing a daily routine like a regular Exercise everyday or even just doing something family enjoyed together.

If in any way you see your children having a anxiety depression its always good to check with psychiatrist as this can lead to a bigger problem along the way. Most of the Psychologist clinic now a day accept medicare rebates psychological treatment.

A study published last week in the journal Translational Psychiatry indicates there’s been a significant rise in the rate of depression in adolescents in the United States, it found that By the age of 17, 13.6 percent of boys and an extremely alarming 36.1 n percent of girls have been or are depressed. This was based on data collected between 2009 and 2014. All of the tips you mention in your article go a long way to helping a lot of kids avoid being part of these statistics.